Transcending Time Part One
by deadlykitty
Summary: Part one of a trilogy following the triumphs and struggles as Tohru and Shigure fall in love over and over through time.
1. Chapter 1

Hey! I apologize now for not updating my other fics instead of writing this one. But I can't help it, I have no inspiration for writing them. Instead I came up with this trilogy. I must warn you that this IS a tragedy romance for part one. But it will get better, I promise. Keep in mind there are still two more parts. The story will mainly be in Tohru's POV, but switching to narrative mode when it focusses on Shigure. It will recap a bit during the switches, but I think you ought to understand why I have it like this when you read it.

As a bit of an explanation for the story, Tohru does not know the Sohmas and vice versa. It starts out with her in college. It will most likely contain OOC-ness for most characters, but hey its a fanfic, it ain't gonna be perfect. Tohru isn't so (... hmm... I don't know how to say it) in her head. You'll see what I mean. Oh, and the curse isn't so strict. They don't always transform when they hug someone. Its mainly just the deliberate hugs that really gets the zodiac. Reason being is that some instances I can't have it to where they become an animal.

Also, I'm still a few years from being in college, so any facts I get wrong please correct me on them. Thanks!

Disclaimer: I don't own it, couldn't write something that good anyway. Oh, and also don't own ideas from other manga if you happen to spot 'em. I've also used various quotes from the books.

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"I'm gonna be late!" I was running up the steps two at a time. If I had been thinking straight I would have realized what would happen from doing that, but I was in a hurry. I didn't want to be late to my first class. I ended up running head first into something.

I heard a small oof! and immediately looked down to see what it was I lay on. My eyes met a pair of gray ones staring intently up at me. I felt a blush rise in my cheeks as I quickly climbed off of the person.

"I'm so sorry! I wasn't paying attention to where I was going and now I've hurt someone! I'm so sorry for being so clueless, please forgive me!" I bowed low, listening for anything from the man I'd toppled.

"That's all right, you don't have to apologize so much. I should have been watching as well. Here, let me help you up, umm?" I looked up to see him standing, a hand held out to me. I realized I had just been staring at him, a definite blush evident on my cheeks.

"Oh! Um, my name is Tohru Honda! I'm new. And you are...?" I asked, slightly calming down. I took his hand and he pulled me to my feet.

"Shigure Sohma. But I believe I've heard your name before, now where was it?" he looked to be contemplating it before another bell rang. "Well, I'll have to remember later. Which class are you headed to?"

"O-Oh! I have a creative writing class..." I looked at the clock and took in what it meant. "And I'm late! I'm sorry, but please do you know where it is?" I watched him in earnest, worried what the teacher was going to say when I finally arrived. I was so late, and it was the first day too! I'm too careless... His voice interrupted my thoughts and I listened intently.

"Ah! That is where I heard your name before. You're in my class. Shall we go? The other students are waiting on us." he turned down a hallway, looking back for me as I hurried to follow. I quickly brought myself into step beside him.

"Um, Sohma-san, might I ask why you aren't in a hurry? Are we both not late for the lecture?"

He gave a small chuckle. "Don't worry, it doesn't matter today to be late. We are not exactly the type of class you are imagining." He opened a door on the left side of the hallway. "Now why don't you take a seat? I believe there is one in the front open." He held the door out for me and I walked in. There were only a dozen desks, put into two rows of six in front of a larger desk obviously for the teacher. Upon it lay an open egg cartridge full of different colored eggs.

Eleven heads turned to the door when it opened. I saw them all stare at me as I came in and took the last available seat. 'but where is Sohma-san going to sit? There aren't any other available seats besides...' it dawned on me now why it didn't matter if we were late. I had run into my teacher!

"All right, what has everyone figured out so far?" Sohma-_sensei_ asked the class.

Someone raised their hand and shouted out "So far we've figured out our teacher isn't that competent. Come on, its the first day, sensei, and you've already missed a lot of class!" a couple of people laughed, and a couple more glanced at me.

He chuckled, smiling at everyone. "That was mostly intentional, partly by accident. Now, what have you really figured out?"

There were murmurs between the students while they tried to figure out what it was we were supposed to. My attention kept going back to the eggs on the table. A dozen eggs... Then there is the desk formation, and how there are exactly one dozen students.

"Um, does it have to do with desks and eggs? I just noticed there were twelve of each, so..." I asked, hesitantly.

He looked slightly surprised. He smiled at me before bringing the carton over to my desk. I blushed as he set it down, standing right in front of me. "Honda-san is correct. Today's lesson has to do with twelve somethings. Honda-san, why don't you pick one of the eggs? But don't open it yet."

Nervously I reached into carton and pulled out a green egg. I looked it over while Sohma-sensei took the carton to all of the students. He set the empty carton down on his desk before leaning against it slightly. I had to admit that he looked quite handsome in his casual black slacks and forest-green button-up shirt. He had the top buttons undone.

"All right," he said, "open the eggs and tell me what you have." The room was filled with the sound of us all breaking the eggs open. Mine held a small charcoal colored dog.

"I have a mouse!" someone said.

"I've got a sheep!" was another reply.

"Monkey!"

"Boar!"

"I've got a rooster and Lee has a snake," this one girl said, speaking for her neighbor.

"Dragon."

"Rabbit."

"Now I'm hungry. I've got a cow,"

"Tiger!"

"And I have the horse. Sensei, why do we each have an animal from the zodiac?"

"Caught on, did you? Very good. Now, everyone is to write a short story concerning the animal you chose. This is a creative writing course, so I need to know where each of you lie on story telling. The only requirement as to the animals is that at some point your animal must be in the story. Due at the end of class." he sat down at his desk and pulled out a large stack of paper. I watched as he began to write on the stack, occasionally moving to a new sheet. I stared down at my blank paper and at the dog.

A quick glance at the clock told me I was running out of time. I stared at the face of the dog before I got an idea. I started writing and finished just before papers were called up.

Sohma-sensei came up to my desk and I gave him my row's papers. The girl I sat next to did the same. A bell rang and everyone stood, gathering their stuff. I staggered behind everyone until I was the only one left in the room. I made my way silently to Sohma-sensei's desk.

"I'm really sorry about earlier, I should have been paying better attention to where I was going. And on top of that I wasn't respectful to a teacher! I'm really sorry and I wish there was some way I could make it up to you." I bowed low over his desk. Once again I could feel his stare on me.

I heard him stand up and come around the desk to stand next to me. Something tapped on my shoulder and I looked up. One of his eye brows was raised as he smiled at me.

"You really don't need to apologize over that again. I told you that it was all right. Just don't run in the halls like that again. We wouldn't want you to get hurt, now do we Honda-san," he said, and I stood up straight.

"Thank you very much Sohma-sensei. I won't do that again." I smiled, too, before catching site of the time. "Ahh! Excuse me, but I'm about to be late to my next class. I will see you tomorrow." I left and had only gotten about ten steps down the hall when I turned around. I hurried back and grabbed my bag off my desk. I spoke a hurried sorry before going back to my next class.

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Shigure still stood in front of his desk when Tohru reappeared in the class room. He listened as she apologized yet again before disappearing again. He held a bemused expression on his face while it happened.

"Hmm," he smiled, standing in front of her desk. The dog from her egg sat upon it. He picked it up and put it in his pocket. She had been the only one not to take the animal with her. "Tohru Honda. What an interesting girl, very polite, very... what am I thinking?" he shook his head before settling behind his desk again. He had another class coming in an hour and a half he had to plan for.

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My last two classes went by very quickly and soon I was making my way to my part time job. I worked at a small cafe. I walked in the door and immediately went to the dressing room for employees. Hastily changing into my short blue skirt and plain white blouse uniform, soon I was back into my routine of being a waitress.

Every once in awhile the party I served would talk to me and we would make small talk. They asked if I was a college student. My answer would be "yes, I want to work with an author someday."

Not all of my customers are polite though. Many times I have to deal with high school boys making a grab for me, making me drop whatever it was I held. My boss yelled at me that the broken dishes were piling up and would be taken out of my pay.

------ ------

My shift was finally nearing its last hour when a familiar face came into the cafe.

"Sohma-sensei! What a pleasant surprise. I didn't expect to see you here." I smiled while handing him a glass of water. "Oh, but I'm sure you'd rather have your order taken than talk to me, so, order when your ready." I blushed as my voice got smaller, along with my smile.

"Not at all Honda-san. I don't mind speaking with you. I'd just like a cup of coffee for now."

"All right, I'll be right back." I gave a small bow as I returned a minute later with a mug and pot. I poured him the hot drink and set the pot down on the table. I noticed a small pile of papers covered in writing. "Um, I don't mean to pry, Sohma-sensei, but are those the stories we wrote earlier?"

He looked up and nodded. He was still smiling, but... something didn't seem right about his smile. "Yes, they are. I didn't feel like going home just yet, so I decided to stop somewhere I could relax to grade them. Now its my turn to ask you a question," he turned in his chair so that he faced me with his whole body, not just his head. "How long have you been working here? I come here frequently and I've never seen you here before. And should you have a part time job while you are a student?"

"Well, I've been working here for almost a week now. I didn't have a choice but to get a job, Sohma sensei. It's kinda... complicated."

"Tohru! Stop socializing and get back to work. We aren't paying you to flirt so get moving!" I blushed and felt a tear try and fall from my eye.

"I'm sorry, Sohma-sensei. I'll come and check on you in a little bit." I walked away towards the kitchen where my boss stood waiting.

"I'm really sorry, Okami-san. I didn't mean to neglect my other tables." I bowed while she yelled at me about how worthless I am and how I should be lucky that they hired me in the first place. I just barely kept the tears at bay while I merely mumbled, yes I know, I'm sorry. I'll get right back to work.

When Okami-san finished yelling at me she stormed back into the kitchen. "Now take this to table six without getting distracted by any more of the men. I'm beginning to think you like all the attention you've been getting and are intentionally breaking all the dishes," she returned to the kitchen and I walked to the table, barely able to keep the tears at bay while I put on my fake smile.

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Shigure watched as she walked towards her boss and listened to the entire lecture. He saw many other heads turned that way as well, some whispering amongst themselves.

"Tohru Honda! This is a work environment, sot a social club! You are not being paid to flirt, nor to ignore the other tables." the woman yelling was slightly large and wore a dirty apron. Shigure saw that Tohru was once again bowing.

"Now I don't care if he is so handsome to distract you-" Shigure was surprised to hear the woman bring him into her lecture. Didn't she realize he heard her? "-but you are supposed to act professional, older than your age. If I let you flirt with every guy who walked in here I'd be out of dishes! You should be glad I even hired you in the first place! I've had many bad experiences with college students part timing and let me tell you I won't tolerate it long. I wasn't going to hire any more but I needed a waitress and no one was applying at the time. I was even more hesitant to hire you when you couldn't give me a home address. What else was I supposed to do than hire the penniless orphan living in a tent? I only hired you because I needed the help and I felt sorry for you."

Orphan? Tent? This girl had a story...

"And even now I'm regretting that choice! I hadn't realized you'd be as worthless as you are clueless." Shigure watched as the woman went in the kitchen slamming the door each time she went through. She came out with a tray and pushed it at Tohru, nearly making the girl drop it. "Now take this to table six without getting distracted by any more of the men. I'm beginning to think you like all the attention you've been getting and are intentionally breaking all the dishes!" she went back into the kitchen but didn't come back out. He saw Tohru walk off to a table, easily seeing past the false smile she wore for the table.

Taking a sip from his coffee he dug through the stack of papers until he came across the one she had written. He placed it in front and read:

_Just a Dog_

_By: Tohru Honda_

_A dog lay in the corner of a room of strangers. She had no idea where her master had gone, nor why she was surrounded by so many new people. She couldn't find the strength to get up, not even sure she wanted to. Every day she just lay in the corner, being ignored by the people in her home. Soon she realized she hadn't eaten for days and was very hungry. The weak dog slowly made her way to her dish, but found no food waiting for her. Instead one of the people came forward._

"_Ahh, are you hungry, girl? Well it is dinner time, so I guess its time to eat. Come here." the starving dog made her way to the table and sat next to the one who had approached her. Surely she would be given some food._

_Another voice spoke, and though the dog couldn't understand what was being said, she understood the tone._

"_What do you think you're doing. No begging is allowed!"_

_The owner of the voice came to her and grabbed her by the scruff of the neck. He picked her up and opened the back door with his free hand. He threw her into the unfenced yard._

"_Get out of here, you mangy mutt. Why did your owner have to leave it in her will to take care of you? Not that it matters. You'll have run away and won't be here to bother us anymore." he shut the door and the dog just lay there. It started to rain, and the dog moved just enough so that she lay on the porch, under the little cover it provided._

_When morning came one of the people in the house opened the door and tripped over the dog._

"_Wha-? Hey dad! The mutt's still here! What do we do now?" The same man who had thrown her out the night before came out. He took one look at the wet dog before kicking her in the side._

"_Get!" he shouted. "Go away, you don't belong here!" he kicked her again, and she stood on shaky legs. "Go on, get out of here!" he aimed to kick her again but she ran before he got the chance. She ran away from the house that had been her home her entire life. She knew her old life was over, and that there was no way she could go back to it._

_She slept in the streets eating when she found the occasional food scrap on the ground. Many people would kick her and laugh before continuing on their way. Eventually she just settled down against the wall, and lay there for several days. She didn't eat any thing, but drank the water that rained on her constantly._

_Just when she thought she would die where she lay, she felt a pair of strong arms wrap around her. Her weakness from lack of substance caused her to faint, and when she woke she was in a strange room. She lay on something soft and saw a couple of bowls laying in front of her. One held food which she quickly ate, the other water that also disappeared quickly. Both bowls were refilled and and again were quickly emptied. A man sat in front of her while she ate, gently stroking her back. She remembered the sensation from when her master had been with her._

_A gentle voice spoke to her._

"_I'm glad you're all right. I didn't find any identification on you, so I figured you for homeless. I took you home with me. I don't know who took care of you last but don't worry, you won't have to deal with that anymore._

_In her heart she knew what he told her right before she fell asleep again._

"_Welcome to your new home."_

_The End_

Shigure sighed as he put the paper down If he was correct about his guess, the story was more like a life story than a dog story.

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I checked on Sohma-sensei every time his cup needed refilling. I didn't stay to talk except about his coffee and did he need anything else. Close to nine p.m., closing time, he was the only one left.

I had cleaned the rest of the tables and made my way to his.

"Umm, Sohma-sensei, could I bring you the check? We're closing now."

"Hmm? Oh, yes. Go ahead." I left his table and returned a moment later with his bill. He handed me some money and I went to make change for him.

"Here's your change, Sohma-sensei. Thank you for coming and have a good evening." I turned to go.

"Honda-san, hold on. I need to give you your tip." he held out some folded bills but I gently pushed them back to him.

"I'm sorry, Sohma-sensei, but I am not allowed to take tips. The ones people leave on the table go to Okami-san as well." I bowed and turned away again.

"If you don't take tips, then what are you paid by? I know perfectly well what makes up most of a waitress' pay."

I started to reply but Okami-san came out just then.

"You little tramp! Again I find you flirting! Get out of here, you're fired. And you shall not be receiving a paycheck. You broke too many dishes to have any more earnings. Never step foot in my cafe again!" I quickly left, escaping into the dressing room to grab my stuff. Tears were streaming down my cheeks. I had needed this job, and now it was gone.

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Shigure watched as Tohru went into the dressing room. He turned to the woman facing him.

"I'm so sorry you had to see that sir. Its so hard to find good help besides all the little tramps as you've just seen. I apologize for her bothering you."

"What did she do wrong? She had not flirted with me what so ever. I asked her a couple of questions and she tried to answer them but you would start to yell at her."

"Oh really? I'm sorry for the accusation, but I was going to fire her anyway. She's been quite the little slut around my cafe, it hurts business, as well as dishes."

"Forgive me if I pry, but what do you mean by that? She happens to be in one of my classes and is much too shy to behave in the manner of which you accuse her."

"The way someone acts at school is different than out in the real world, sir. She lets many men catch a feel and each time pretends to be so surprised she drops whatever it is she was carrying."

"Are you sure she lets them?" he pressed.

"I'm quite certain. Now sir, I don't mean to be rude, but I need to close shop. Come again." She led him to the door and locked it after him.

He saw the woman disappear through the same door that Tohru had gone in. A moment later he heard Tohru being yelled at by her boss again. He couldn't make out what was being said. He walked over to the alley and saw the girl pushed down the steps and land in the puddle of water left from last night's rain. A moment later and Tohru's bag was thrown down as well, and she barely managed to catch it before it fell in the water as well.

Shigure heard a gentle crying as he watched her stand up, her skirt dripping from the water. When she stepped out of the alley, he made his presence known to her.

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I had just managed to get all my things in my bag when Okami-san came in the room.

"Little tramp! How dare you ask a customer to cover up for you? And such a handsome one as him? Get out of my cafe and never show your face again!" She had opened the door and grabbed my bag from me. She pushed me down the stairs into the puddle outside before throwing my bag there as well. I barely managed to catch it, falling forward slightly. I stood up, my skirt dripping.

As soon as I stepped out of the alley Sohma-sensei came into site. He wore a kind smile.

"S-Sohma-sensei! What are you still doing here?" I asked him, hastily trying to wipe away my tears.

"Honda-san, first, can we drop the formalities? We aren't in class, and I would much rather you called me Shigure."

"Oh, um, all right... Shigure-san?" I gave a weak smile. "Oh! Then please call me by my first name as well!"

"All right, Tohru. Now, would you mind accompanying me? I'd like to talk to you, and it'd be best to speak in a less oppressive and more private environment." he waited on me to say something, so I just nodded.

"All right." he started walking in the direction I would have taken anyway. We didn't talk while we walked. I marveled at how I'd lived in the same section as my teacher and hadn't known it.

"Um, Shigure-san, where is it we are going?" I asked after awhile. With every step we took we were getting very close to my own home.

"Its not much further. Its the apartment building next to the woods and bath house."

"Really? How funny. I live almost next door to you." I gave a slight smile, but I didn't really mean it.

I knew he stared at me slightly while we walked, but I pretended I didn't see him. We kept walking in silence until we arrived at his apartment complex. We climbed the stairs up to the top floor and went to the door closest to the woods. I searched slightly and saw my tent only just peeking out from the foliage. While we stood there I became only all too aware of the dripping still coming from my skirt.

"Ahh, Shigure-san! I don't think I should step inside your home! My skirt is still sopping, and I don't want to make a mess in your home!"

"Don't worry, you can't make a bigger mess than is already in there. I have something you can change into if you want."

"B-but, wouldn't it just be better if I stepped into my own home and changed? It would be easier on you, if I didn't dirty your clothing."

"I don't mind, Tohru. My younger cousin visits often and wears it when she comes. You'll be wearing girl clothing if that is what you were thinking. You won't be getting my clothing dirty." he smiled as he opened the door. Even before he turned on the lights I saw a huge mess in there. "Please excuse the mess, I haven't gotten to cleaning just yet."

"It's like a garbage jungle..." I said, staring bemused.

"That's nearly poetic! And the best way its been described yet." he walked in and took his shoes off. "If you'll wait here I'll bring you a towel and find the kimono you can borrow." I stood there in the entrance while he found the two articles.

"I'm very sorry for being a burden. You've been so nice to me even though we've only just met and I've done nothing to deserve it." I bowed low when he returned with the small pile.

"It's all right, Tohru. The bathroom is the second door on the left. Go ahead and take a shower and change. I don't think you want to be covered in mud all night, do you?"

I looked down at my legs. "Ahh! You're right. Thank you for your kindness, Shigure-san." I took my shoes off and went towards the bathroom.

"Wait a minute Tohru. You're hurt."

"Eh? hurt? Where?" I looked down and noticed the blood running down my leg. I hadn't even noticed it, instead been thinking solely on the man I accompanied. My leg was too dirty to be able to tell the origin of the blood.

"Go ahead and take the shower. I'll bandage your leg when you get out. The kimono opens so I can get to it and you can stay covered. And don't argue with me on this, all right?" he was kneeling by my leg, trying to find the cut. He looked up into my eyes, and I knew it would be pointless to try and change his mind.

"A-all right. Thank you." I went into the bathroom, gently shutting the door behind me.

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Shigure searched through the cabinets in his search for the bandages. He knew he had some around there somewhere...

"Aha!" he gave a small noise of triumph as he brought the items out into the open. He heard the water turn on in the bathroom. At least she had listened to him. He still had no idea what he was going to do. He had seen her look out to the woods and noticed the corner of the tent peeking out from between the trees.

A small noise came from the bathroom, and Shigure heard the water turn off immediately. That had not been long enough for anyone to get a shower. Walking to the door, he gently knocked.

"Tohru?" he asked, "are you all right?"

"Y-yes! I'm fine!" Shigure could hear her pain in her voice.

"OK, but hurry and take the shower. We need to take care of your leg." he knew she had been lying but figured pretending not to notice would get her done faster. As if on cue the water started again but almost immediately was shut off again as he heard her cry from the pain again.

"Tohru, I know you are not fine. Cover yourself, I'm going to come in."

"N-no! Please don't! I'm fine really, it just stings a bit. Really, I'm fine."

He waited.

"You don't believe me, do you?" she asked, quietly.

"Only because I hear otherwise. I'm coming in in one minute whether you're covered or not." he heard a scrambling on the other side of the door. He left to gather the supplies he'd left on the living room table chuckling to himself. She was an interesting girl all right.

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I had just stepped into the shower when I had to shut the water back off. My leg was searing with pain. I must have made a noise because soon Shigure was knocking on the door.

"Tohru?" he asked, "are you all right?"

"Y-yes! I'm fine!" I replied, the sting not subsiding in the least.

"OK, but hurry and take the shower. We need to take care of your leg." I was sure he knew I had lied. His voice all but told me he knew otherwise. I turned the water on again, but the pain got worse. I turned it off as another cry of pain escaped from me.

"Tohru, I know you are not fine. Cover yourself, I'm going to come in." he spoke from the door, telling me he hadn't left.

"N-no! Please don't! I'm fine really, it just stings a bit. Really, I'm fine." I tried to assure him so that he wouldn't come in, but I never heard him move from the door.

"You don't believe me, do you?" I asked him in a small voice.

"Only because I hear otherwise. I'm coming in in one minute whether you're covered or not." was his answer and it sent me scrambling for a towel. I momentarily forgot about the pain as I heard him walk away from the door. I hurriedly dried myself mostly and tried to get the mud from my leg before placing on the kimono. It was so beautiful, I didn't want to ruin it with my blood. I gingerly held the material away from my legs.

The door opened and Shigure walked in carrying some ointment and bandages. I saw he also had some wash cloths. He deposited his load on the counter and handed me a piece of string.

"Tie up the kimono so I can work. I'm sure you don't want me seeing something inappropriate, now do you?" he was smiling, and I knew I was blushing again. I was getting treated by my teacher! Something must be up, like I must be dreaming. That has to be it. But I've never seen anyone so handsome as Shigure before, and the pain in my leg... Surely those aren't just in my head.

My thoughts were running wild while I hesitantly tied the kimono into looking like some short and awkward shorts. I was hiding what needed to be hidden, and my legs were uncovered for Shigure to work.

"Go ahead and sit on the toilet. I'll sit on the tub edge." I did as was told, and he soon followed suit. Just as he was about to put a wash cloth upon my leg, a knock was heard from the front door.

Shigure cursed slightly under his breath. I only managed to make out "now who could that be so late at night?" before he left to answer the door. I wondered the same thing.

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Well, that's all for now. I couldn't really come up with a good stopping point before now, so I decided to make one before it got too long. Well, a little warning now, I won't update until I get five reviews or flames. I know that will probably annoy some of you, but I need the reviews to know if I'm writing something people like. I just got too annoyed when one of my stories had seven reviews and several hundred hits. And another had a few hundred hits and no reviews. So please review or flame! I honestly don't care, though no one has flamed me yet either, so I don't really know what it is like.


	2. Chapter 2

Shigure's POV

I opened the door and felt my blood run cold. Of all the people to be visiting, why did it have to be him? He's just standing there at the door, waiting petiently for me to invite him in, yet to do so would mean he'd find Tohru, and...

Shivering, I pretended to yawn.

"Why, hello, Yuki! What brings you here? I'm sorry to be rude, but I was just on my way to bed. What can I help you with?"

Yuki gave me a quizical look. "I had hoped to ask for a place to stay tonight, but it seems I am unable to here." He was peering behind me at th mountains of trash overflowing the room.

"Yes, I am sorry Yuki. But unless you want to sleep with me or on top of all this filth, I have no room for you tonight. I am sorry. I'll set you up a hotel room, though. Come in for a few minutes. Er, hold on a moment." I shut the door, and quickly made my way back to the bathroom. "Tohru, stay quiet for a few minutes, and... uh, hide in my room." mimicking my younger cousin she also looked at me a little confusedly before nodding. Ginngerly she stood and hobbled to my room, the only other one in the house, and shut the door behind her.

I made my way back to the front door and let Yuki in. He stepped over a few piles before landing in a relatively clean area. "Honestly, Shigure, how can you live in such decay?"

"Heheh... I'm not around enough to clean up too often. I'm thinking of just hiring a maid to clean up for me during the week."

"That's cruel, Shigure. Pure evil."

"Aren't I?" I was dialing the number to a nearby hotel while I spoke. I went there myself many times, for various reasons.

It rang once before someone answered. "Hotel a la Grande. How may I be of service to you?"

"Hey, Ryou, it's Shigure. Do you have a room open tonight?"

"Yeah, sure. Who you with tonight? Blonde or burnette?"

"Actually, it's for my younger cousin, and he's coming solo."

"Oh, in that case, room 305 is open. I'll have a key waiting for him at the front desk. Who do I bill it to? The usual?"

"Yep. Thanks Ryou. Bye."

"Until next time."

I hung up, and turned to Yuki. "Room 305. Pick up the key at the desk, and don't worry about the bill."

"Thanks. I'll see you tomorrow." he left, and I sweat dropped. That had been too easy. I leaned back against the door, rubbing my temples. I hadn't asked Yuki why he needed a room for tonight. If I was right...

Just as I suspected, the door bell rang again. Kyo stood there this time.

"Got a place for me to stay tonight?"

I groaned. "No, I don't Kyo, let me call you a hotel. Come in and tell me the reason why I'm suddenly renting out rooms to all my younger cousins tonight."

The young man looked at me much the same as the other two college freshmen I knew had. "Who else was here?"

"Yuki. Just a minute before you got here."

"Ah, figures. The damn rat tried to mooch of you instead of fending for himself."

I was busy dialing the number again while responding "Kyo, what does that make _you_?" I was definately looking forward to the night being over, and it was scarecely past midnight.

"Ah, shut up already! Just help me out, would ya?!"

"Ah, the thanks I get for helping family... hey, Ryou." The familiar voice had just started reciting the standard line as I finished talking to Kyo.

"Huh?" he asked, "Shigure, you again? What do you need now?"

I sighed. "Two more rooms for my younger cousins."

"Jeez, what did they do to need rooms at this time of night?"

"I don't know. I'm still waiting to hear an answer." I looked pointedly at Kyo as i said the last part.

He blushed, and looked away. Mumbling, he said "... blew up the dorm again."

Poor Ryou. he must've had to hold the phone away from his ear as I burst out laughing. "They, they blew up their dorm again! What's this, the fifth time now?" Ryou was now audably laughing himself.

Kyo just blushed darker than his orange hair as he whispered almost so quietly I couldn't hear him, "Eight."

"Oh, boy. Wait until Akito hears this one. Anyway, Ryou, do you haver the rooms?" I was still having a hard time controlling my snickers.

He was having the same problem on the other end of the line. "Yeah, we got them. 402 and 637. Separate floors, but we can accomodate them. That'd be the safest way, right?"

"Yeah, thanks Ryou. One will be for Akito, and the other Hatsuharu. Send the bill to- oh, you know the drill. Thanks again."

"Yeah, anytime." he hung up.

I turned to face my cousin again. "There you go. Hotel a la Grande. Find hatsuharu and take him there, too, all right? Or did you blow him up, too?"

"No! Of course not!" he slammed the door as he left the apartment. I stared at the door for a moment, and sure enough, it sneaked open just a bit as Kyo's head poked back through the door. "Oh, and thanks, Shigure."

"Anytime, Kyo. Now, hurry up and locate Haru before he turns black."

He nodded, and the door shut again. Slowly, I walked over and locked it before leaning my head against it again. Why is it that _I_ am the one they always turn to?

I started to make my way back to my bedroom to help Tohru now, but it seems fate was against me, still. The phone rang, and on the other end was Ayame.

By the time I managed to hand up with the man it was getting very late. He had been describing his newest fashions, and wanted my opinion on just about all of them, however ridiculous they seemed to me. I had to hand it to him, though, he could come up with an idea that would sell like wildfire. He was as popular with his designs as I am with my books. What's more, what I thought would be duds were typically his best sellers.

Finally I could make it back to my bedroom.

"Tohru, I'm sorry for the wait. First my cousins are all winding up at my door, then another's on the phone. Now let-" I paused. Tohru sat propped up against the wall on my floor, sound asleep. The girl was very pretty awake, but looked to me like an angel asleep. I hated to wake her, but knew I'd better to take care of her leg.

Tohru's POV

Shigure had told me to go into his room quite the while ago, but it soon seemed to me like he had forgotten I was even in the house. I'm not entirely sure when I fell asleep, but soon I was being shaken awake softly by the man.

"Tohru... Tohru, wake up."

"N-nn? Shigure?" I yawned. I'd been dreaming, and for some reason I was back at college. Shigure was the only other person in the room, and he was smiling at me. That's all that happened. He stood leaning against his desk, smiling warmly, and it was making me happy.

He was smiling softly at me now, too, as he had in the dream. "Come on, let's take care of your leg." he slowly stood, and offered me a hand. With his help I stood up, and was suddenly taken up in his arms, though slightly held away from his body.

When I looked up at him to ask him why he did this, he merely smiled. "You'd best not strain your leg any farther. It hasn't stopped bleeding entirely yet." Slowly, he walked back towards the bathroom, and set me down on the toilet again. He took a seat opposite me on the tub edge, pulling a washcloth off the counter to him. With the tub spigot he wet it, and slowly started washing the cut, barely applying pressure.

It stung, though not unbearably so. He seemed to be taking great care not to hurt me. When my leg was clean, he examined the wound more closely.

"You're not going to need stitches, thankfully, but it's pretty badly scraped up. I'll ask my cousin to clean it more thoroughly tomorrow. Is that all right with you?"

Alarm spread through me like wildfire. He can't go through that much trouble for me!! I'm still mostly a stranger... "No, Shigure-san! Please don't go to any lengths for me! I don't deserve such kindness from a man I've only just met, let alone from one I have yet to meet!"

"Relax, Tohru-kun, don't worry so much. it's no trouble at all to either of us. I'll pay my cousin to look at your leg, so he's not going to anything unusual for his job, seeing as he's a doctor anyway. And furthermore, before you start up again," he said, holding a finger up to silence my oncoming protests "it is far more worrysome on my part if I think your leg is infected and hasn't been properly cared for."

That silenced me. I could do nothing but nod, before remembering about college tomorrow. "But I have classes tomorrow!"

"As do I, Tohru. I shall take you to see my cousin before they begin... or would you prefer after? I'll take you to dinner as well, before returning you home. I trust you have everything you need with you here for the day, do you not?"

I blushed. I did have everything, but dinner? "Please, Shigure, I'll concede and allow you to take me to see your cousin, but please don't do so much for me. I don't deserve such kindness." bowing my head allowed my hair to fall in front of my face, hiding my expression from his piercing stare.

A tender touch to my chin tilted my face to look up at him, and the kindness portrayed in his eyes left me speechless. Who knew someone could look at me with such a feeling?

"It is not troublesome. I would not offer if I didn't want to do it. You should try and accept people's kindness more often. It's more enjoyable to both sides that way."

If my blush could have gotten any deeper, it would have, and it had nothing to do with the hand on my lower thigh. The look in his eyes was so calming, so caring, I could do nothing but smile and duck my head. Tomorrow was going to be very interesting, indeed.

"Tori-saaan!' the door slammed in Shigure's face, and I couldn't decide what to do but stare in shock as Shigure-san ran with his arms flailed at another man wearing a white lab coat. I was too surprised by my companion's sudden change in movement from silent walker to sudden oddball.

Shigure feined sadness. "Aww... Tori-san, please don't be mad! I really do need a favor... don't turn away this poor girl as a patient!"

The door opened. There stood the doctor, in his handsome glory. He was tall, with his longish hair brushed to cover one of his eyes. He wore most of a business suit under the lab coat, with a stethascope hanging around his neck. No one spoke for just a moment, Shigure looking up a little hesitntly, as if unsure what to do next. Hatori-san was looking down at me with an expressionless gaze, though I met it with questioning eyes. I could have sworn I heard him mutter something, but I didn't catch what.

"Well? Are you going to come in so I can examine you or not?"

I blushed, as is often my nature, and muttered "Oh!" before stepping up into the house. My shoes were taken by a maid, reminding me of jst how large the Sohm estate was.

When Shigure-san and I had first arrived at the entrance to the wall we had been following, I had been flabbergasted. Everything since last night had been a surprise, it seemed. First, when Shigure-san insisted I stay the night at his house ( I slept in his room, much to my protest, while he crashed on the couch.) and drove me to the campus in the morning. After each class, including the ones taught by other professors, he somehow found me and made sure I made it to each class, no matter that he was late to hs own or not. Each time he gave an excuse like he hadn't known I'd be there and asked if I minded him walking me to my next course since he was there. Each time he asked about my leg, proving how worried he'd been. If it weren't for that, and had I been more untrusting, I'd probably think he was a stalker.

After my last course he still had another one to teach, so he asked if i minded wating in his classroom. He told me I could get a sneak peak at what I would be learning in his class next semester. Of course, I was eager to do so.

In the class he'd been doing book reviews. Everyone had been assigned a novel to read the week before and today they had an open discussion about what they'd about it. The review made it sound so interesting I borrowed a copy from a student in there who shared one of my other courses to return next week.

Moving on towards present time, though, after that last bit was over we drove to a small parking lot outside a very long wall. I hadn't known until we'd come to the gate that the wall weas encasing the Sohma complex. The city inside the wall was shock enough, but seeing so many people in full kimonos made it seem even more surreal. If it weren't for the few random people wearing jeans I'd have thought it was a world all it's own. The people too, surprised me. They were all so beautiful, I felt very plain and ugly. Shigure merely smiled at my shock and assured me it was all right. No one was going to bite my head off. I don't mean to be untrusting, but something about the way he said it made me think that maybe somewhere there _might_ be.

We passed a tree lined road on the way to Hatori's house, and once it was in sight, well, I've already said what happened.

"What is ailing you, Miss Honda?"

I blinked. "Huh? Oh! My leg..."

"She was pushed down some steps into a muddy puddle. I cleaned it as much as possible, but I'd rather you made sure it was safe from infection. It's scraped pretty badly."

As we talked Hatorii led me over to an examination table, lifting my skirt over the said area. I was covered where I needed to be, but it was still pretty embarassing none the less. While he was unwrapping the bandages Shigure had carefully wrapped on my leg just last night he was glaring at the man. "What part did you play in all of this, Shigure?" it was obvious by the way he said it he meant something entirely different, but was trying to be polite for my sake.

"I was there when it happened. It was at the cafe I frequent after closing time. She was a waitress there, and I was grading papers. And before you further acuse me of molesting the girl, she is a student of mine that I met yesterday. I had her come home with me seeing as it was late _and_..." he emphasized, looking pointedly at the raised eyebrows on Hatori's face, "she stayed the night in my room while I slept on the couch. I never touched her except for tending to her leg. I'm not as bad as you think I am, Hatori."

There was nothing to do but look between the two men as each seemed to try and calmly out glare the other. Hatori broke it and looked back down at my leg again. "You did a fine job caring for it, Shigure."

With a stiff voice, Shigure replied "Thanks." as he sat down in one of the chairs in the room. It wasn't a usual doctor's office, it was set up in what would probably have been a child's bedroom instead. To get to the room we had gone through a living room, showing this was his house and not an office.

"I'll sterilize it, but you had no need to be concerned. With some annointment it will be good as new in a couple of weeks. Is there any burning or pain of some sort, Miss Honda?"

I smiled, shaking my head. "No, nothing. It only hurt when I tried to wash it last night. If it weren't for Shigure-san's care I might have been in trouble!"

"That's not unusual. This will sting." he sprayed something on the scrape, and I winced. It didn't hurt for long.

When he started to apply the ointment, I couldn't help but giggle. He paused, and glanced up at me. "Sorry, it's cold."

He nodded, and I thought I saw the glimmer of a smile on his face. Standing up, he turned to Shigure. "Could I see you in the other room for a moment?"

Shigure merely nodded and left the room, shortly followed by Hatori-san. "We'll be back in just a moment, Miss Honda."

"All right! Take your time, and thank you very much, Sohma-san."

"Please, call me Hatori. There are too many Sohmas here to call me by that name."

"Ah, then please call me by my fist name as well, So- Hatori-san." I corrected. This time I was sure I saw him smile.

The door shut and I was left to my own thoughts, all revolving around Shigure.

Shigure's POV

"I'll sterilize it, but you had no need to be concerned. With some annointment it will be good as new in a couple of weeks. Is there any burning or pain of some sort, Miss Honda?"

She smiled, shaking her head. "No, nothing. It only hurt when I tried to wash it last night. If it weren't for Shigure-san's care I might have been in trouble!" The girl was giving me too much credit... when I was cleaning her leg and even bandaging my thoughts were all on her and some were not so clean.

"That's not unusual. This will sting." he sprayed something on the scrape, and I watched as she wnced from the sudden pain, but it soon passed as a smile once more graced her features.

When he started to apply the ointment, the girl began to giggle. I couldn't help but find it cute the way her hair swayed aainst her shoulders as her small form shook with pleasure. Pleasure I wanted t- STOP! Bad Shigure, clean thoughts, clean thoughts... Hatori paused, and glanced up at her. "Sorry, it's cold." she murmered.

The doctor nodded, and almost smiled at her. Standing up, he turned to me. "Could I see you in the other room for a moment?"

I merely nodded and left the room, shortly followed by Hatori. "We'll be back in just a moment, Miss Honda."

"All right! Take your time, and thank you very much, Sohma-san."

"Please, call me Hatori. There are too many Sohmas here to call me by that name."

"Ah, then please call me by my fist name as well, So- Hatori-san." I saw him smile at her, and I'm not sure what the emotion was that passed through me. Could it have been apprehension for what Hatori had to say? No, he's not scary in any way, except that _one_... but I don't have to worry about that one. No, it's something else...

The door was shut, and soon I was facing my relative who was giving me a glare that would have terified a lesser man. Personally, I knew what was coming and I was only all too used to the lecture I was going to get.

I had thought.

"I hope you know what you're doing." he leaned against the wall of the living room. The old picture of Kana still stood facing the room, growng dusty from the time spent untouched on display.

"What's this, Hatori, not going to tell me to keep my filthy hands off her?"

The man sighed. "No, with this I'd only be wasting my breath. You still don't remember, do you?" he was looking up at me with a somber face. As well as I knew the man, his eyes were the saddest I'd ever see them. Considering the pain he's lived, and the friendship we'd shared with Ayame since childhood, I knew the man very well.

"Remember what?"

He shook his head. "No, forget it. It desn't matter anymore." Pushing himself off the wall he headed towards his kitchen. "Do you want some coffee, or tea? And Tohru maybe?"

"Tea for Tohru, most likely. She's underage, and when I offered her coffee this morning she politely refused it. She asked for tea when I insisted she drink something."

Smirking, he started to heat water. "And... I suppose you thought of her being underaged yourself, then?"

"In this case, yes, yes I did. Unlike me, isn't it?"

"Quite."

"Well, get used to it."

Again, he gave me an odd look as he tended to the now whistling tea pot. He's hiding something from me, but I'll let it slide for now. Something is drawing me to the girl we discussed, and I don't know what it is. Whatever it is, I just want to see her again. I feel apprehensive when I'm not with her, and i've only just met her!

Shrugging, Hatori followed me with the tea tray to the other room. Tohru was still sitting on the examination table looking around the room.

As she slowly turned to face us I was again hit by the underlying beauty with in the girl. Yesteday I was merely inerested in finding out what her story was. Now I want to know more about her. When she was shoved down those steps I wanted to protect her, but the time wasn't right. I was silenty steaming over the treatment given to the girl, and there was no call for it on my part. Seeing her like that... what's wrong with me?


	3. Chapter 3

Well, to be honest, this was disappointing. I only received one review for this chapter. Lucky for you guys though, I'm already bored wiating on you, so I'm updating anyway. If I do again, well that one I don't know just yet. So if you want the updates, please leave me a review! Thanks!

"Hatori-san is very kind, isn't he?" Tohru chatted as we were leaving the main house.

"He can be, at times."

She giggled. "You make it sound like he has another side."

I turned to her, giving her a bemused grin. "And would you believe me if I told you he did?"

"Depends. Would you have any reason to lie to me?"

"No." I lied.

"Then yes, I would trust you on it." I smiled in answer, opening the car door for her as we approached the vehicle. It had taken the long car ride to the college that morning to convince her to have dinner with me. She insisted on repaying me for all of my kindness, though half of that had an ulterior motive to begin with.

In the end, it was decided I could take her to a non-expensive restaurant for a simple dinner. As I drove, I was trying to concentrate on what she was saying, and not on my own thoughts. Never had a girl invoked in me feelings like this so quickly after meeting them. Or at all.

"So where is it you're taking me?" she asked.

I shrugged. "Anywhere is fine, but since you're insistent on it being cheap, I know another cafe that has some really good food. If you want to go else where, just say so."

"That sounds fine. Thank you so much for everything you've done for me. I don't deserve such kindness."

Groaning, I pulled over to the side of the road. "Why do you keep saying that? It's not whether you deserve it or not. I want to do something for you, and I want you to have fun. You're worth more than you think you are, so give yourself a little credit."

"But... I've done nothing to warrant such attention! I've only just met you, and here you've already given me shelter and medical attention and, and-!!" I put a finger to her lips.

"-and it was no trouble at all."

She watched me for just a moment, before nodding. I lowered my hand from her face, back to my lap. Smiling, she giggled. "Can I still pay you back?"

I grinned. "And just how do you propose to do that?" Stop it dirty thoughts, stop it dirty thoughts...

"I'll think of something soon enough." Damn. Oh, well.

"Just don't go over board." I pulled the car back on the road. The cafe wasn't too much farther away.

When we arrived I did the usual gentlemen things, as unusual as it was for me, holding doors open for her, and pulling her seat out for her. She ordered a simple meal, still frowning at the prices. I didn't order anything over the price she did, limiting the selection, but oh, well.

We ate silently for awhile when it arrived. For some reason the food tasted better than it usually did, and I couldn't help wondering if it was because of the girl across from me.

Tohru's POV

We had just left the 'main house' as he called it, and were driving down the road on our way to the cafe when I asked "So where is it you're taking me?"

Shrugging, he said "Anywhere is fine, but since you're insistent on it being cheap, I know another cafe that has some really good food. If you want to go else where, just say so."

"That sounds fine. Thank you so much for everything you've done for me. I don't deserve such kindness." I tried to bow somewhat but stopped when I heard him groan. He pulled over to the side of the road and turned to face me.

"Why do you keep saying that? It's not whether you deserve it or not. I want to do something for you, and I want you to have fun. You're worth more than you think you are, so give yourself a little credit." Something in his voice shocked me as he tried to say it with a sense of finality to it, yet I still tried to argue with it.

"But... I've done nothing to warrant such attention! I've only just met you, and here you've already given me shelter and medical attention and, and-!!" I was stopped by a sudden pressure to my lips as his finger pressed against them, meaning to silence me.

"-and it was no trouble at all." I couldn't help staring up at him for a long moment, before nodding, a hint of heat on my face from the intense stare he was giving me. He seemed to be looking through me, not just at me. He lowered his hand, and for some reason I wish he hadn't lowered it.

"Can I still pay you back?" I asked, smiling, forcing myself out of the previous thoughts.

He grinned. "And just how do you propose to do that?"

"I'll think of something soon enough."

He pulled the car back on to the road. "Just don't go overboard."

The rest of the drive was silent, and when we arrived at the cafe he opened both my car door for me, the restaurant door, and even pulled my sea out for me, pushing it back in when I had sat. I thought it very sweet of him, wondering still why he did such things for me.

Upon opening the menu, I frowned. It was still a little expensive. In the end, I chose some dumplings with miso soup. It wasn't the cheapest thing they offered, but I didn't want Shigure to argue me out of choosing something a little better. Besides, while I'm not a picky eater, a bowl of rice isn't enough to fill me up, and I didn't even really want to know what the 'special' sauce was, covering it. Shigure didn't order anything too fancy, either, though to my dismay I was certain it was because I had ordered something so cheap.

We didn't say much at the beginning of the meal, after the food had arrived. It tasted exquisite.

"So, you live next to me, correct?" he asked.

I gulped. I forgot he had said he was walking me home after this. My secret was going to be revealed. "Y-yes, I do."

"Where at? The complex past the forest?"

I looked down, I couldn't look him in the eyes as I told him. "No. I live _in_ the forest."

Stealing a glance, I saw he didn't look the least bit surprised. I had figured he'd raise his eye brows or something, instead he merely stared at me again with his calm, collective gaze.

"I knew it," he whispered. Then louder, "so the tent I saw yesterday was yours."

I nodded, ashamedly, lowering my head so that he couldn't see my face.

"You realize I can't let you stay in that tent, correct?"

I nodded again.

"So you can just live with me."

His words caused me to gasp and looked up to meet his gaze instantly. "You can't!" I nearly screamed, jumping up and causing half the cafe to look over at us. Slowly I sat back down, blushing furiously. He was grinning, amusedly.

"I thought you'd argue. How about this, so it isn't just charity. I'll hire you as my maid. Then you'd have a reason for being there, and I'd feel more comfortable knowing you weren't constantly out in the weather where you could get sick and die."

I thought about it for a moment. He was right, I needed a place to live, considering I had no where to turn to otherwise. "All right. I _do_ like house keeping, and I haven't been able to do so for quite the while. I can cook too, if you want!" I added, starting to get a little excited.

He was smiling at me again, looking content. "So now we're both happy, no?"

"Yep!" I was grinning from ear to ear. This was going to be fun! I hoped.

Shigure's POV

"So this is where you live... how long have you been here?" We had arrived at Tohru's tent to retrieve her possessions. It was very shabby, and it was surprising to me that it could even stand.

"About two or three weeks, I think." She was already going into the tent. Peering through the flap I could see a few boxes with their contents displayed as if on shelves. A sleeping bag lay rolled up in the corner. she passed things out to me, and soon the tent was empty.

While we worked to take the tent down, I continued to question her.

"So why live in a tent? What about your parents?"

"They're dead." she said it so easily, and there was hardly a trace of pain crossing her face.

I raised my eye brows. This explained a few things. "I'm sorry to hear that. Accident?"

"Half way. My dad died of Pneumonia when I was a baby, and mom was in a car accident last May."

"Ah." May wasn't that long ago. It's only August now. The way she was smiling made it seem like there was nothing wrong with her, but it didn't reach her eyes. "So where did you live before this tent?"

"My Grandpa took me in, but after his daughter's family moved in, he passed away. My dad was estranged from his family, except his father, for marrying my mom, so I wasn't really welcome there any longer. I bought this tent and left the house. I've lived here since."

I didn't have anything to say to that, surprising as that is for me. It was obvious to me now where her first story had come from. We finished in silence, and headed back to my apartment. She didn't have much, really, only a few outfits of clothing, school books, and a couple of pictures.

For the mean time, we merely put it all in a corner of my room. It was too late to try and clean up the mess my apartment had become, so we just left it. There were no classes tomorrow, so we would work on cleaning it up instead, and getting Tohru some things she would need, though she didn't know that yet.

"Wow... you've worked wonders on this kitchen." Tohru had been hard at work in there for the past few hours, while I cleaned up the bedroom and hall way. I still had a ways to go, while she had already gotten lunch cooking as well as the room sparkling.

"I wanted to do a good job since you've already done so much for me." she smiled so sweetly, I couldn't help but give her one in return.

"Well, if you don't mind, could I leave the rest to you? I've gotten a dent in the other rooms, but no where near this much done. I have a few errands to run as well."

She beamed. "Oh, that's fine! Please, go and take care of your business, I'll have the house clean soon!" Even though she seemed eager, I couldn't help but feel bad for leaving her to this... hurricane disaster.

"All right, you're the professional. I'll be back in a few hours."

Tohru's POV

"All right, you're the professional. I'll be back in a few hours." he left, and I couldn't help smiling. Professional? He was too kind to me.

"Welp, better get back to work if I'm to have this finished before Shigure-san gets home!" I told myself. Going to the bedroom, I stood in shock. Shigure had said there was a dent in the room, but it looked more like the 'dent' was caused by rearranging things to another side of the room. Sighing, I grabbed a trash bag. "One step at a time," I told myself, "One step at a time."

I was sitting with my head thrown back on the couch, sound asleep by the time Shigure returned. It had taken a while to sort through all the trash, and by the time I finished I was quite tired. I was woken to the grinning face of my teacher, who was hiding something behind his back.

"I'm back, Tohru."

"Welcome home." I yawned. "Dinner just needs to be heated up. We kinda forgot about lunch, so that's what we'll have, if you don't mind."

"Sounds great. I haven't had a home cooked meal since my younger cousins were in High School."

I smiled. "I hope you like it then."

"I'm sure I will. I have something for you by the way."

Alarm spread through me. He didn't spend more money on me, did he? "Shigure-san, please don't do so much for me! I haven't done anything to deserve this!"

He was laughing. "Don't worry. It's nothing bad, it's just a little bit necessary for you to live here." He presented it. At first I thought it was a piece of paper, but I realized there was something attached to it. Holding it out for me to take, I did so. It was a document and a key. The document had my name on it, and Shigure's.

"What is this?" I asked him.

"It's a form of residency, stating that you now live here. And the key is your house key, so you can come and go as you please."

Tears streamed from my eyes as I hugged the paper to my chest. "Thank you so much, Shigure." I whispered. This was one of the most precious things someone could ever give to me, a place to belong.

and that's it, but I do have another chapter written for this already. When it is posted is up to you. I don't care if you flame me either! It lets me know that someone was actually reading enough to hate it. Anyways, thanks guys! Please let me update!!


	4. Chapter 4

"So what did everybody think of the book I assigned last week?"

"Sohma-sensei, you're a perv!"

"Yeah, why'd you write such smut?"

I giggled from my seat in the corner. It was Shigure's last class of the day, and I was sitting in as I often did, waiting for his class to be over so that we could go home. Lately I worked as his assistant, grading some papers for him while he taught the class. Today was another review day, this time for one of his books.

"All right, get it out of your systems now so we can continue with the class. All right?" at that someone stood up, shouted "Everybody, one! Two! Three! PERVERT!!" the class all shouted the last word, and I couldn't help but start laughing as Shigure gave a bow. This class was always doing silly stuff like this that other teachers would never allow.

He smiled, and I could have sworn he glanced over at me, but I'm sure I was mistaken.

"Now, seriously. What were your opinions over writing technique, plot line, you know the drill."

A girl near the windows raised her hand. "It had a very flowing story, moving smoothly from scene to scene. You described things very well, it was easy to see them in the mind's eye. And the, ahem, love scene, was quite tastefully done."

Another girl piped in. "Yeah, and the twists to the story... wow! It's hard to imagine how you came up with some of those. How'd you come up with the immense family problems?"

"That is something you'll never know. Anybody else?" Shigure answered.

I raised my hand, when no one else did. "Maybe Sohma-sensei could ask if there were any problems in the book that left questions for the reader? I believe there was one left unanswered at the end."

His eyebrows raised as he looked at me bemusedly. "Miss Honda makes a good point. Did anybody question the ending?"

This time a guy spoke out, not bothering to raise his hand. "Yeah, I did. Why did the girl choose to leave her lover, when it would have hurt them both more than her staying? I mean, why cause yourself pain?"

"Tell me, Mr. Sakishima, did you read the book, or just the last chapter?"

"The book!" he said, in a whiny-ish voice.

"Then you wouldn't mind giving a quick summary of the whole book, now, would you?"

Mr. Sakishima jumped to his feet. He was the same guy who had gotten the class to call Shigure a pervert earlier. "It's about this girl who, uh, shags this guy, who's like her cousin, and uh... ditches him in the end." The class started snickering into their hands as Shigure smirked at him.

"Mr. Sakishima, I want an essay summary of the novel by Thursday, no less than five thousand words."

"You're kidding me!"

"No, I'm quite serious. That will give you plenty of time to read the book and get a thorough understanding of it before the final exam. Maybe for once you can get a passing grade in my class."

The class laughed again as the boy turned scarlet. "Yes, sir." he mumbled.

"As for the rest of you, I want a report of comparison on how the plot is similar and different to that of the last novel we read. Due tomorrow, at least one page in length." the class ended, and before he left, Shigure called Mr. Sakishima to his desk. When everyone had left, he spoke again.

"So what kept you from reading the book?" Shigure asked him.

"I had to work, my boss wouldn't let me off until closing, because one of the other cooks has been sick for the past week and a half. I'm sorry sir."

Shiure sighed. "I can understand work problems, but I can't let you slack off in your school work, either. You're paying too much just to attend this school, you don't want to have to take the course over. Talk to your boss, see if he'll try and let you leave at a certain time each night so that you can get your homework done, too. If he won't, maybe I could talk to him for you."

"Yes, sen-sei." he turned to leave, but Shigure stopped him again.

"Also, for that summary, don't worry about the word count. So long as you get the point across, it doesn't matter. All right?"

The boy smiled. "Thank you, sensei!" he left.

I walked over to Shigure. "You're a kind teacher, Shigure-san."

"Yeah... what's wrong with me, anyway?" he said, grinning as he turned to look at me.

"Absolutely nothing. It's a good thing to be kind."

He didn't say anything, merely gazed at me. I stared back as long as I could, before I started to feel self conscious under his watchful eyes. I turned, and headed for the door. "Shall we go?" I asked.

Nodding, he grabbed his bag. Together we walked in companionable silence to the entrance of the college, and out to his car. The drive was silent, until I realized we weren't heading home.

"Where are we going, Shigure-san?"

He didn't say anything at first, but soon he glanced over at me. "To see another of my cousins, Ayame."

"Oh! I can't wait to meet him." I told him. "Are we just visiting, or do you have some business to do with him? Oh, please don't answer if you don't want to. I was being nosy, sorry." my voice got quieter as I carried on, my head drooping in shame.

"It's kind of business, but he asked me for a favor, actually. I've told him about you, and he wanted to meet you." he was hiding something, but I didn't ask him what.

"That's very kind of him. But why would he want to meet me?" I wondered aloud.

Shigure glanced at me again. "Just a warning, his assistant Mine will probably surprise you."

"That's fine, I'm sure I'll like her," I beamed.

He gave a nervous laugh. What was wrong with him? He seemed uneasy about my meeting his cousin, I wonder why...

* * * * * Shigure's POV * * * * *

"That's fine, I'm sure I'll like her," she smiled at me. I couldn't help but laugh a little worriedly. Ayame was helping me in my little plan, but I didn't want Tohru to feel like she owed me even more, especially since I was fixing to give her a new wardrobe.

We arrived at the small shop my cousin ran, and I gave a deep breath. Here goes...

I opened the door for Tohru, and she got out of the car, smiling brightly. I cared so much for the girl... My entire personality seemed to change around her, and it felt more free to me to be like this. Tomorrow we will have lived together for a full month, and I wanted to make it special, by taking her some place fancy. Unfortunately, she didn't have the type of clothing needed for the restaurant I had reservations for.

Upon opening the shop door she squealed in delight. "It's such a cute shop!" she exclaimed, turning to me with a wide smile on her face.

"I'm sorry, but we're closed to- oh! Shigure-chan! It's you! Ayame's in the back, waiting for you two." Mine was coming towards us, her maid uniform on, as usual.

Tohru bowed. "Are you Mine-san?" she asked politely.

Mine nodded. "I am. And you must be Tohru-chan. I've heard so much about you, Ayame and I have been looking forward to meeting you for such a long time now. I'm happy to finally meet you!"

Tohru smiled. "Thank you very much, I'm sure we'll be great friends!"

"Girls, how about we go and talk to Ayame now? You'll have plenty of time to get to know each other later in the evening."

They giggled. "Sorry, Shigure-chan. Follow me, then." She led the way to the back room, chatting with Tohru along the way.

Ayame popped his head out of a room as we approached. "Ah! You're here!" he came walking out in his usual splendor, long silver hair swishing about as he walked.

"Tohru, this is Ayame. Ayame, Tohru." I introduced, sighing in relief. So far everything was going smoothly.

"I'm very pleased to meet you, Ayame-san."

"As am I, you, Tohru-kun. Now, let's get started, shall we?" he beamed.

"Huh?" she squeaked, as Mine grabbed her hands, leading her to another room.

I laughed nervously again. "Sorry, Tohru. They needed a model, and I, well, you'll see soon enough." I hated to do this to her, but Tohru would never have agreed to it otherwise.

She looked a little scared as she was whisked into the dressing room with Mine.

"Do not worry, Gure-san, she'll be fine. Mine knows what to do, and will make sure everything works perfectly on her."

"Thanks, Ayame, for all your help."

"Think nothing of it. The only thing I regret is that I am no longer number one in your life." he pretended to sob as I reached out to him. Laying my hand on his shoulder, he looked up. Smiling, we did our usual thumbs up before settling down on the couch. "So tell me Gure, what is it you have planned for tomorrow?"

I grinned. "Dinner at the fanciest restaurant in Tokyo, dancing, and..." I trailed off, theatrically.

"And what, Gure, tell me already!"

"And I'm revealing to her the family secret." Ayame stared at me in shock, joking around forgotten.

"Do you really think that wise, Shigure?"

I nodded solemnly. "She'll find out eventually, and I'd rather it was sooner rather than later."

Ayame nodded. "Before you fall completely in love with her, correct?"

"Yes."

My friend nodded. "She's really something else, isn't she? Hatori told me he was fond of the girl, too, though not in the same way of course. She drops into your life and completely changes things around, doesn't she?"

"Yeah, and I'm still deciding whether that's a good thing or not."

"Do not worry, it is a wonderful thing."

The door Tohru had disappeared behind opened, and Mine popped her head out. "Presenting, for the first time in heels, Tohru Honda!" she stepped out of the way, and Tohru appeared. My jaw dropped.

* * * * * Tohru's POV * * * * *

"Ah! You're here!" A head popped out from the room we were approaching.

"Tohru, this is Ayame. Ayame, Tohru." Shigure introduced us, sighing in relief.

"I'm very pleased to meet you, Ayame-san." I told him. He was a very beautiful man, with very long silver hair.

"As am I, you, Tohru-kun. Now, let's get started, shall we?" he beamed.

"Huh?" I squeaked, as Mine grabbed me hands, leading me to another room.

Before I could do anything, Shigure was out of sight, and I was face to face with Mine, who was grinning wickedly. The last thing I heard from him was "Sorry, Tohru. They needed a model, and I, well, you'll see soon enough." the last words were muffled by the shutting door.

"Now the men can talk, and so can we!" Mine beamed. She was walking to the back of the small room we were shut up in. Clothes were lined up all along the back wall, ranging from dresses to shirt and skirt sets. One gown stood out amongst the others, a silky evening gown that faded from black to a deep cerulean blue, with sparkling silver flowers flowing down the side. It had spaghetti straps, with a lowish neck line. (A.N. I have a dress like this, which gave me the idea. Can't really design anything so spectacular myself, so I used that for the story, though instead of silk, it's velvet. Wish I was skinny enough to wear it!)

"That gown is gorgeous..." I breathed.

Mine smiled. "It's yours."

"What? I can't accept a gift like that, it's too much!"

Mine took my hand and led me over to the wall of clothes. "Tohru-chan, Sigure asked Ayame and me to make all of these for you, as a thank you for all you've done for him. He's really grown fond of you, and wants to do something special for you. This dress is for tomorrow night, when you'll need something like this for what he has planned for you."

"But why would he do all this for me? He has no reason-"

"Yes he does. Tohru, have you not seen the way he looks at you? I've only just met you, but I've known Shigure-chan for a very long time, thanks to Ayame. He's falling for you."

I didn't know what to say. Shigure was falling for me? But... why would he? What made me so special that I stood out to him in such a way? Sure I cared for him, too, but could it be love?

Mine was watching me carefully. Finally, she spoke again. "Even if you don't love him yet, why don't you just accept everything he's done for you? It would make him happy, and Ayame and me, too."

I thought about it, and nodded, smiling. "Thank you, Mine-chan, for everything youv'e done for us."

She smiled again, before a mischievous glint passed through her eyes. "So, shall we get you dressed?"

"Eh?! Dressed? You mean I'm going to be putting the dress on now??"

"Of course! You need to know how to put it on, don't you?"

I blushed, but couldn't help agreeing with her. I'd never worn something so splendid before, and would need all the help I could get.

"All right, first off, have you ever worn heels before?" she asked me while I undressed.

"No, never." she was helping me pull the dress on now. It was so low I couldn't wear a bra with it, but it had padding in the chest to hide the fact.

"You'll need to practice walking in some before we show you to the guys, then." While I adjusted the form fitting material she fetched some shoes for me. When she returned, I gulped. The heel itself was very thin, and about three inches high.

"Here we go..." she muttered, "these are perfect for the dress. And with Shigure's height you can get away with wearing them!"

I sat down in the chair she led me to, putting the shoes on. The straps were thin and crossed over my toes and behind my heel, helping to keep the shoe on. Mine helped me to stand, and it took me a moment to adjust to the odd arch my foot was now settled in. When I thought I would be able, I took a step, steadying myself with Mine's help. For a few minutes I just walked slowly around the room before Mine let go of my hand. I took a few more steps, and announced I was ready.

Mine took her position at the door, waiting for me to cross over to her. When I was there she opened the door, popping her head out to announce it to the men. "Presenting, for the first time in heels, Tohru Honda!" I stepped around her and out the door.

As soon as Shigure came in sight, I blushed, remembering what Mine had said to me about him, but even more so by the reaction he gave me. His jaw dropped.

Slowly he stood up, and took a small step towards me. "Tohru..." he whispered. I noticed Ayame was gone, and so was Mine. We had been left alone in the room, and I had no idea what was going to happen. The look in his eyes was such that I couldn't meet his gaze, embarrassed.

"Mine said this was going to be for tomorrow night, and... and that it was all your idea. Thank you." I was still looking sideways at the ground. Shigure was standing so close to me that I couldn't see my feet, and instead merely saw his stomach, covered still by what he'd worn today. The only difference was his shirt was unbuttoned at the top, and his tie lay undone across his shoulders.

He brought his hand to my chin, tilting my face up to meet his. I didn't know what to do, so I merely forced my eyes to meet his. Soon I found I couldn't tear my eyes away from his.

"Tohru..." he whispered again. His hand cupped my cheek, thumb caressing my chin. The appendage rose just slightly, and he was stroking my lips. My breathing was becoming ragged as he did this, my mouth opening slightly while he traced his thumb over my lips. Our eyes were still glued to the others, and it seemed to me like he was getting closer to me. His other hand was resting on my hip, and my own had risen to his chest, distancing us just slightly, but it didn't matter. He breathed my name again, and his thumb moved from my lips, replaced soon enough as his mouth covered mine. He stroked my cheek lovingly as our mouths molded themselves to each other. Our eyes had shut as soon as our lips touched. My head was spinning and soon I felt something tracing my lower lip. A moment later and my tongue was dancing with his, our mouths silently eating at each others. I'd never been kissed before, yet I somehow knew what to do, and it felt so right to be kissing him like this.

When he slowly broke the kiss, we just stared again into each other's eyes. My lips felt slightly swollen, and we both breathed heavily. "Shigure..." I whispered.

"Aww... how sweet!" we turned, and there stood Mine and Ayame, both with their arms crossed and big grins proudly displayed on their faces. Immediately we separated, a blush evident on both our faces, more so on mine.

"I think the dress is successful, don't you, Ayame?" Mine asked.

"Yes, quite successful Mine. I can only wonder how our other creations shall be greeted when seen on the lovely Tohru."

"I should think quite likely in the same way as this dress, wouldn't you, Ayame?"

"One can only hope, neh, Mine?"

"Yes, one can only hope. Shall I take Tohru back to make certain it all fits, Ayame?"

"That would be best, Mine, and I shall take Shigure back to be fitted for his own clothing."

At once both plunged forward, and I was dragged back into the other room while Shigure was taken to another part of the store. The last thing I heard was Ayame shouting "Make the last _that_ one, dear Mine!"

"Yes, sir!" she shouted.

Soon I was being dressed in all of the outfits lining the back wall. No sooner would I have one on that it would be stripped off again and replaced by another. For half an hour this went on until all of the outfits had been tried on, and Mine was at last dressing me in what they had referred to as _that_ one.

The dress was a frilly white dress with long sleeves and skirt. It was the sort of dress a proper lady would have worn years ago, complete with gloves, flat shoes, and ribbons in my hair.

"You're so cute, Tohru, it's fun to dress you up!" Mine was saying, as she attached the final ribbon to its proper place.

I blushed. "All these clothes are so beautiful, I feel out of place wearing them."

"Don't. They fit you perfectly, and if you think the reaction Shigure gave you to the evening gown was nice, wait til you see what he does with this one!" she exclaimed, giggling happily. "How was it, anyway?"

"Oh," I sighed, "that was amazing! I've never been kissed like that before... or kissed! He invokes in me feelings I don't understand, but it felt so wonderful, I just melted into it. Was that... the right thing to do?"

Mine just stared at me for a moment before giving me a kind smile. "Of course it was, Tohru-chan. Just be yourself, and everything will turn out fine." she gave me an encouraging hug before softly pushing me out into the room where Shigure would soon be joining me. I sat and waited. When he came in, I was reminded of just how incredibly handsome the man was.

* * * * * Shigure's POV * * * * *

She was gorgeous, absolutely breath taking. All I could do was stare in wonder as the goddess looked around embarrassingly, trying very hard not to meet my gaze. I breathed her name, and each time her cheeks grew just a little more flushed.

"Mine said this was going to be for tomorrow night, and... and that it was all your idea. Thank you." I was standing so close to her now, her stare went from her feet to only seeing my stomach, which only caused her to turn an even darker shade of red before quickly averting her eyes.

Tilting her face up to meet mine and I was lost in her eyes, drinking in the beautiful orbs' light. "Tohru..." I breathed again, lips parting and staying open just slightly. I was losing control, and the softness of the skin beneath my hand insured I was certainly not getting it back soon. I was caressing her face, my thumb going from her chin to tracing her lips. My unoccupied hand had found her waist, and both of her small ones had somehow landed on my chest, keeping us from embracing. She doesn't even know yet that we couldn't embrace, had we wanted to. From her own ragged breathing I could tell she did, but was a little frightened.

My tracing of her lips stopped when they slowly parted, and soon her beautiful eyes closed as mine did as well, a new connection being made. Our mouths were perfectly molded, moving against each other with such familiarity even though we'd never kissed before, scarcely even touched the other. I couldn't help myself for wanting to deepen the kiss, to taste even more of her than I had already partaken of. She joined me, passionately, in a little war of our tongues, before I slowly ended the kiss. She would need to breathe soon, and it would be bad if she fell against me. Any closer and she would soon know my terrible secret, and the moment would be lost, as would probably she.

For the first time, she breathed my own name, and I could have kissed her again, which I almost did.

"Aww, how sweet!" a voice behind us chimed. We broke apart, quickly, both with flaming faces, no matter how unusual that was for me.

"I think the dress is successful, don't you, Ayame?" Mine asked..

"Yes, quite successful Mine. I can only wonder how our other creations shall be greeted when seen on the lovely Tohru."

"I should think quite likely in the same way as this dress, wouldn't you, Ayame?"

"One can only hope, neh, Mine?"

"Yes, one can only hope. Shall I take Tohru back to make certain it all fits, Ayame?"

"That would be best, Mine, and I shall take Shigure back to be fitted for his own clothing."

No sooner had their conversation ended than I was being dragged out by my best friend and Mine was forcing Tohru back through the dressing room door. "Make the last _that_ one, dear Mine!" Ayame called out.

"Yes, sir!" the girl shouted to him in response. I had absolutely no idea what was going on. I'd asked for clothing for Tohru, not me!

"Ayame, what on earth are you doing?!" I half screamed at him. He'd just interrupted my moment with Tohru, for Pete's sake!

"Now, now, Gure, don't be angry. That was for your own good." he said calmly, slowing down as we reached the unknown destination. It was another back room, one I'd never been in before.

I grumbled. "_How_, exactly, was that for my own good?"

"You almost embraced the girl, and as such would have frightened her away! Honestly, dear cousin, use some tact!"

He released the grip he'd had on my arm and had turned to face me, all joking aside. It was a look he rarely showed to anyone, least of all me, considering all the joking we did.

"Shigure, you have got to control yourself better. One more second with Tohru and you would have kissed her again, never letting her go. Her arms would have wound themselves around your neck, and then she'd be busy kissing a dog!"

Groaning, I rested my head on his shoulder. "That's how Mine found out, isn't it?" I asked him, calmly.

"Yes, indeed. She ran away screaming as she realized her tongue was grazing a snake's fangs, but to my relief she returned the next day. I told her about the family's curse, and thanked the gods when she hugged me, holding my smaller form to her chest."

I stood up, facing away from him. "Akito... he doesn't know about that yet, does he?"

"No. Only you and Tori-san do."

"As only you and Hatori will know about Tohru. He doesn't even know she lives with me, yet."

"Dangerous life style, my friend."

I could only nod, before grinning again. "It seems the mighty canine has been tamed, doesn't he?"

Ayame smiled. "No, Gure, not yet. The mighty canine still has a ways to go before he's completely under the power of his small lover."

We did our thumbs up before he suddenly turned mischievous again.

"I do believe I have a mission to accomplish in here, now, dear friend..." he whispered evilly.

"Should I be worried?"

"Not yet. Before I'm finished with you, you shall be though."

My eyes rolled, and soon my tie and shirt was being thrown across the room. "Ayame, what the hell are you doing?!"

"You need some new suits, and a tuxedo for tomorrow night, Gure. I will not be insulted again by your wearing another designers fashions in front of me." He was busy running a tape measure across my chest and arms, no sooner laying it across some skin before it was whipped away again

I sighed. "Sorry, Ayame, but since when do you make men's suits?"

"Since last week, when you first commissioned the young lady's wardrobe. I learned how to make them and have already finished. I just needed to get your measurements for the tuxedo's jacket. It will need to be adjusted." while he spoke he was dragging out a rolling clothes rack, filled with button up shirts, slacks, and my usual yukatas. In front of them all were two dry cleaning bags, with two tuxedos visible through the clear wrapping. One was the black I was going to rent from somewhere tomorrow, the other a white.

He gave me a knowing look. "The white is not yours to keep. Mine and I just want you to match Tohru in a few moments."

"Let me guess: _now_ is when I need to be worried."

He gave me a sadistic smile. "Very, Gure."

Ten minutes later, both Tuxedos had been fitted to my body, and I was being pushed into the same room as earlier. There sat Tohru, positively shining in a white dress covered in frills and bows. She looked like a proper lady of years long gone, and was pale except for her apparent blush upon my entrance.

Ayame, the fast worker, had me dressed in a pure white tuxedo, with matching shoes, gloves, and top hat.

"Well," I smiled, "It seems we have both been surprised tonight."

The girl went from gorgeous to positively adorable. She stood, slowly, coming towards me. Her eyes never left mine. "Pleasantly so. I still have yet to thank you, Shigure."

She rarely called me by my name without the honorific. I liked it better that way. "Have you decided just how you are going to do that?" I teased.

"Almost. I'm just deciding when to do so, now."

"Well, shall we dance while you do?"

"Gladly." I bent low in a sweeping bow, while she did a curtsy in response. Still bent low, I gazed up into her eyes, while reaching for her hand and giving the top a slow, lingering kiss. Straightening, I kept my grip on her hand and led her to the middle of the room, just a step or two away. I turned her to face me, placing her unoccupied hand on my shoulder, before placing mine on her small waist again. We stepped off, and I twirled her around the room, our feet keeping perfect rhythm with the others'.

This personality I seemed to have developed from meeting her is so unlike me, yet I like it better. Before I never would have admitted to her power over me, nor to the feelings she aroused from somewhere deep inside. Before I never would have danced with her. If anything, she'd have been mine for a night, and gone from my life the next. Why I helped her that first day, I still don't understand. but it would content me to be like this with her for the rest of my life. Ayame was right. I've fallen for her, and I've fallen hard.

* * * * *

Wow... that took me forever to get written. Sorry guys! Hope you liked it, the next chapter will hopefully begin to get this plot moving!


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